Agaléga Proposed to India?

An article in the Times of India said that Mauritius would be willing to give Agalega to India to preserve the treaty to avoid double taxation. Information emphatically denied by the foreign minister, Arvin Boolell, who is currently in the Great Peninsula.

"Mauritius offers India Two Islands in efforts to preserve tax treaty. "This is the title scathing and unequivocal a newspaper article the respected Times of India in its issue of Friday. These two islands form the archipelago of Agalega.

"India could use these islands for the development of hotels and resorts, for trade, marine studies, or for a strategic presence in the Indian Ocean," says Times of India. The article also quotes the Mauritian Minister of Foreign Affairs: "There is no problem on the issue, said (Arvin) Boolell when asked if the islands could be returned to India as part of an economic program. "

This position of Mauritius, according to Times of India, have one goal: keep the double taxation treaty (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) between India and Mauritius. And it implies that Mauritius would be willing to give Agalega to continue to benefit from this important treaty for the Mauritian offshore. The Mauritian foreign minister is currently in India where he discusses the issue.

Article that drew the ire of some Mauritian. "This information is false and fabricated. Ever the question of Agalega was not addressed in our discussions, "says Arvin Boolell, joined Friday by telephone by The Challenge Plus. He points out that Times of India has "a hidden agenda" and claims that he already talked to the reporter who wrote the article and that he has "apologized", following the publication of this article.

The High Commission of Mauritius in India, in a statement issued Friday, explained that this item is "erroneous, false and malicious". He explained that the Mauritian Minister of Foreign Affairs has granted several interviews to the Indian press and he did, at no time discussed the issue of Agalega.

This is not the first time that the question of disposal of Agalega in India is discussed. In December 2006, Times of India was originally a series of articles on the subject and who had been a bombshell. The newspaper said that Mauritius was to transfer temporarily Agalega to India, through a long-term lease, to develop tourism infrastructure. Which provoked a reaction on the part of Mauritius.

Four years later, in October 2010, Financial Express, which is talk, once again, the sale of Agalega to the Great Peninsula. The Indian newspaper pointed out that discussions had resumed Indo-Mauritian in order to develop Agaléga as a tourist destination. Adding that the land could be used for agricultural purposes and for "strategic projects" by India.

The question come up again with the release notes of the U.S. Secret Service, published by WikiLeaks last year. In 2006, the U.S. questioned the "subject" of India on Agalega and even spoke of "hidden agendas" ...

Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing: "We must avoid with Diego II Agaléga"

MP MMM Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing, also operator of the offshore sector, is categorical. "Who is the real owner of our scattered islands? The government needs an explanation to the public. You should know the whole truth about this matter so as not to end up with Diego II, as there was a Betamax II, "he insists. The state, he argues, must provide clarification on the Indian demand.

For Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing, do "not especially attached to the neck Agaléga the offshore sector." "Operators do not want future generations to come tomorrow as blaming those responsible for the sale of part of our territory to save the Non Indo-Mauritius double taxation."

"No steps ..."

Following information from Times of India, we approached Jean-Francois Battour, president of the Outer Islands Development Corporation (IDOC) for a reaction: "I am not aware of any steps in that direction. There have been many rumors and press articles on the subject, but this information proved to be unfounded. " This is the IDOC is responsible for the management of Agalega.

No, it is not in the city at Ebene Cyber occur as the largest offshoring transactions between Mauritius and India. It is the building, One Cathedral Square, the heart of the capital of Mauritius, which is the main source of foreign direct investment into India.

Thirteen Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) registered in Mauritius would conduct operations that would be considered illicit by the general provisions of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR), legislation whose enactment was postponed to 2013, according to the Economic Times of India.